


The Fireworks Aren't Only in the Sky

by augopher



Series: The Things We Make, We Make With Love [5]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fourth of July, Kid Fic, M/M, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Single Parent Derek, gender variant character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-23
Updated: 2014-12-23
Packaged: 2018-03-03 00:32:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2831612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/augopher/pseuds/augopher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A family outing to the annual Beacon Hills 4th of July BBQ leads to confessions of love and a revelation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Fireworks Aren't Only in the Sky

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure why in the series header it says this is part 5. It is definitely part 4.
> 
> Please don't post my work Goodreads

The hot summer air hung heavy in the park, and for a brief moment, Derek considered that it might just be too warm for this picnic today. However, upon seeing so many of his fellow Beacon Hills residents had turned out for the annual 4th of July picnic held in Beacon Park, he revised his negative thoughts. Today was a perfect day for this.

Small grills had popped up all over the green, perched next to colorful picnic blankets occupied by happy families and friends. Wafting on the air, the wonderful smell of grilling meat and veggies filled his nostrils. He scanned the crowd trying to find John and Melissa's blanket.

“Do you see your dad, Stiles?”

Stiles rose on his toes, as if an extra few inches would help any in his search. “No. He just texted me. They're here; although giving us a general idea as to where would have been nice.” He grumbled pulling along their cooler and tote bag.

“How about you, Buddy?” Derek squeezed his hands where they held onto Stephen’s legs, fingers drumming on the embellished denim of the boy’s bermuda shorts. “See anything up there?” Stephen shifted atop his father’s shoulders, almost losing his balance. “Whoa there. You have to hold still. I don’t want to drop you.”

“He’s over there!” The boy squealed in excitement.

“Where?” Derek couldn’t see in which direction Stephen was pointing.

He leaned forward and turned Derek’s head towards large public pool. “See Daddy? Mr. Slinski and Miss Melissa are over there.”

“Good job.”

“Yep. I’m a good helper, right?”

“Sure are.”

Stephen’s eyes beamed behind their pink, heart-shaped sunglasses. “Stiles, did you bring your swimsuit too?”

Stiles patted his leg. “Wearing my shorts already.”

“Good. I like swimming. Daddy’s wearing his too. We’re going to have so much fun.”

They eventually stopped in front of John’s picnic blanket, where he, Scott and Melissa had already gathered. “Hi guys.” Stiles set down his load. “Smells good.”

“Ah yes, burgers are already on the grill. I didn’t know if Stephen liked them, so I also have some hot dogs too.”

Derek laughed. “You kidding? This kid will eat anything, but thanks for thinking about him. Nice to see you again, Scott. Kira not coming?”

“No, she’s here. She went in search of an ice cream vendor.”

Stephen, true to his nature, gave all three of them a hug before plopping down on the blanket to remove his purple flowered sandals. Stiles, following suit, pulled out a beach umbrella and drove it into the ground. No way was he getting a sunburn today. Not if he could help it. “Hey Stevie, come sit in the shade, and I’ll put sunscreen on you.”

“Aw Daddy, do I gotta?”

Derek deadpanned. “Do you remember what happened the last time you didn’t?”

“I got burned.” He said, face instantly a bit dour.

“Right, and that didn’t feel too good did it?”

“No. It was itchy.” So, he listened to his father and sat underneath the umbrella while Stiles slathered sunblock on his exposed skin, making sure to get underneath the straps of his lavender camisole.

“Don’t get any on my bow.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. Why don’t you hold onto it, so I don’t miss?”

Stephen clutched the satin bow sewn onto the left strap of his shirt, fiercely protecting it from the evil white goop that smelled funny but somehow kept away the sun.

“There. All right now your face. Close your eyes.” He laughed when Stephen screwed his eyes shut. “You don’t have to close them that tightly, Stevie.”

Derek opened their cooler. “I brought enough to drink for everyone. There’s water, soda...um Coke, Diet, and Sprite. We also have juice boxes and lemonade.”

Scott laughed. “What? No beer.”

“Open container, Son.” John rolled his eyes.

“I was joking. I’ll have a Coke please.”

Derek passed him a can. “John, Melissa what can I get for you?”

“Water’s fine for me.” John said.

“I’ll take one of those lemonades if you could.”

As Derek handed her a pouch of lemonade, he grabbed a box of apple juice from the cooler and poked the straw through the foil at the top before passing it to Stephen.

“Hey, how’d you know I wanted apple juice?”

He smirked. “Call it a lucky guess.” Seriously, the kid hardly drank anything else. It was hard enough getting him to drink a glass of milk with breakfast.

John stood and checked on the burgers just as Kira returned with an armload of ice cream sandwiches. “Planning on eating all that yourself?”

“Very funny, John. I got one for everybody.” She turned to Derek. “I hope that’s okay.”

“Yeah.”

“Well burgers should be ready in a few. So maybe after lunch.” He pointed to their cooler where she dropped the frozen treats. “So Stephen, have you had a good summer so far?”

The little boy’s eyes lit up like the fireworks they’d see later. “It’s been great! I got to go to camp! I made a lot of new friends. I met this other little boy, Micah. He lives in Sacramento with his mommy and daddy and three dogs. He likes karate and dinosaurs, and oh yeah, he said his name used to be Michelle, and even though the doctor’s said he was a girl when he was born, he said he’s a boy so now he’s Micah. He’s eight and NO ONE at school makes fun of him. Can you believe that? He said he hated wearing dresses and all that pink stuff, but that he liked my headbands. He got to be in the top bunk at camp! There were games and prizes. I was the best at tee-ball, and I ran faster than the other kids my age! It was so much fun. Nobody made fun of my clothes at all! I wish I could go there everyday.” His animated hand gestures were almost as frantic as Stiles’.

Melissa took a sip from her bottle of water. “That sounds like a lot of fun, Stephen.” She looked at Derek. “Where was the camp? Doesn’t sound like any we have near here.”

“No, it was in Napa. So a bit of a drive, but he had been bugging me to go to one since last year, when Amy, his best friend...the one who lives across the street, she went and told him all about it. I wanted to let him go, but I was worried about the other kids and counselors not understanding him, being insensitive I guess. So I did some research and I found this one. At first, I thought it was just for transgendered kids, but I gave them a call, explained that Stevie prefers girl clothes over -”

Stephen leaned over and whispered in Derek’s ear. “But they’re not girl clothes. They’re mine.”

Derek turned to his son. “Yes, I know that buddy, but for the sake of explaining things, can you let me finish the story?” Stephen nodded. “Thank you.”

“Anyway, but that he’s a boy. I mean that's how he identifies. I asked if the camp had a place for him, because I had reservations about standard summer camps. The camp director said they had several children every year who were gender non-conforming, and it wouldn’t be a problem. He hasn’t stopped talking about it for two weeks.”

John pulled the burgers and dogs off the grill. “Lunch is up. Fixings are in little cups in our cooler.”

“Oh,” Stiles said, “Stevie helped me make dessert.” He took out a tub of flag shaped cookies from his tote. “We decorated them last night.”

Stephen stood up and carried the container around to everyone. “Everybody gets three cookies. Stiles says, ‘No cheating, Scott.’”

John snorted into his water.

"That was one time."

"Stiles told me you'd say that, and then he said to tell you 'No second chances.' You get three." Stephen looked at Stiles. "Did I get that right?"

He pat him on the back. "Sure did, Buddy."

"Oh we also have something else for everyone." He ran over to the tote bag, almost tripping over the mix of legs stretched out on the blankets. Proudly, he pulled out a shoebox. "We made a pair for everyone." He passed out the star shaped sunglasses. "Me and Stiles put glitter on them and the little stars. Stiles said you have to wear them too, Mr. Slinski. Even if they make you look silly. See?" He took off his heart shaped pair and replaced them with the smallest pair in the box. "Pretty cool, huh?"

John laughed. "Well okay. You got me. I'll wear them, but only because you made them and not because my son says I have to."

Stephen beamed at him. In record time, the boy had finished his lunch. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, can we go swimming now,  please, pretty please? Can we, can we, can we?" He jumped up and down. "Please, I ate all my lunch."

John chuckled. "You know you have to wait an hour after eating before swimming right?"

Stephen put his hands on his hips. "That's not true. Daddy says that's just an old life whale."

"He means old wive's tale."

"I got that." John said.

Derek blushed. "Stevie, don't be rude. "

"But that's what you said. I was... " He noticed his father's furrowed brow. "Sorry Mr. Slinski. Can we please go swimming?"

"Yeah Derek, can we go swimming now?" Stiles asked with a smirk.

“Oh no, you two have formed an alliance. I'm screwed aren't I?” He looked over to see Stiles nodding with his arms crossed across his chest. “Yeah Buddy, we can go swimming."

Stiles dug through the tote "Here's the swim bag, Buddy."

Stephen looked around. "Daddy, where are the potties? "

"Do you need to go?"

"No. I need them so I can change. "

"Don't worry about it. Change right here. "

Stephen’s eyes almost bugged out of his head. "But Daddy! Everyone will see me! "

Derek took two beach towels and gave one to Stiles. "No they won't. See look. " They each took the ends of the towels so that Stephen could step in between them and have his own private changing stall. "Stiles and I will hold this and no one will see you."

"Do you promise? "

"Yes, and I wouldn't let you change here if they could. I promise, no one will see you. "

Stephen gave him a side eyed glance, but, with reluctance, agreed. About a minute later, commotion broke out from within the confines of the towel changing room. The swim bag rustled as all its contents were dumped into the picnic blanket. Flip flops and aloe vera gel made a thud as they hit the ground. "Where is it?  Where is it? "

"What's the matter?"

"My shirt. It's not here! I know I got it out of the drawer. I put it in the pile on the couch."

"Which shirt was that? " Stiles asked, feeling bad because he packed the swim bags that morning.

“My rashie. The purple one with turtles."

Stiles turned to Derek and asked, "What's a rashie?"

"Rash guard. It's a swim shirt. You know, the kind surfers wear?"

He smacked himself in the forehead. "I'm so sorry, Buddy. I didn’t know it was swim clothes. I just thought it fell off the top of the clean clothes pile.”

"But... But... " Stephen's shoulders shook as he began to cry. "Daddy, I can't go swimming now."

"Couldn't you just swim in your trunks?" John asked.

Derek fixed him with a solemn stare and shook his head.

"No.  Everyone will see me. I need my shirt. I can't go swimming without a shirt."

"He has this thing about being shirtless outside. Has ever since he was a toddler." Derek said. "What if you go swimming in my shirt? "

"But Daddy, it's too big. I will get all tangled." He sobbed. "You can go swimming without me." He yanked one of the towels free and wrapped it around his shoulders, going to sulk under the umbrella.

While the rest of their group's attention was focused on Stephen, Stiles shucked his shirt, a tight fitting Spiderman tee and draped it over Stephen's head. "Here you go, Buddy. Mine's much smaller than your daddy's." He waited for the boy to put it on. "How's that? "

"I guess it'll work." Stephen grabbed his beach towel and began to walk away.

Derek grabbed him by the collar. "Are you forgetting something? "

"Thank-you, Stiles. "

Derek snagged an arm around around Stiles' waist and kissed his temple. "Yeah, thank-you, Babe."

Stiles smiled. "Anytime."

 

*   *    *    *   *

 

Despite the fact the pool was packed with people, they managed to find a little corner of the pool for the three of them, Stephen swimming back and forth between Derek and Stiles, holding onto the side of the pool every so often as the two men treaded water.

“Hey watch this, Daddy. See how long I can hold my breath. It’s a lot. Watch.”

Derek counted silently once his son’s head dipped beneath the water while he kept a watchful eye on Stephen's little hand holding firm onto the ledge, ready to pull him back above water at a moment's notice. When Stephen resurfaced a few seconds later, he put on his shocked face. “Wow!”

“I know, right! Like a million, billion, quadrillion seconds.”

It was ten seconds.

“For a minute there, I didn’t think you were ever coming back up. Thought you’d left me to become a new Jacques Cousteau.” Stephen rose an eyebrow at Derek, and dear God, the boy had inherited his eyebrows. How had he not noticed that before now. “Yes?”

“Daddy, who is Shock Goosetoe?”

Stiles tried to stifle his laughter.

“Well, Buddy. He was an ocean explorer. He liked to look under the water” That was close enough, right?

“Oh. I don’t want to be an ocean explorer, Daddy.”

“Oh yeah? What do you want to be?”

“I want to be a….dinosaur!”

Derek picked Stephen up under his arms. “A dinosaur you say? A flying dinosaur?” He nodded to Stiles before launching his son in the air the few feet between them.

“Again!” Stephen cackled as he wiped the water from the splash out of his eyes.

They took turns tossing the boy back and forth between them before he found some friends to play with.

“Stay in the shallow end, Stevie, where you can touch, and where I can see you okay?”

“Okay.” He waded off to play with some of his classmates from school.

Derek looked over to where Stiles had been standing only to find the space empty. Where did he go? His eyes scanned the crowd on the side of the pool, but found nothing. Damn it, Stiles.  All of the sudden, he found himself pulled under.

After a brief moment, his eyes adjusted to the chlorine only to find Stiles in front of him smirking. The man was legitimately happy about trying to drown him. What?

_Quit being so damn dramatic, Derek._

All his confusion melted away when Stiles took Derek’s face in his hands, pulling their lips together. _Oh so that’s...this is nice...wow._

It was so cliched, honestly, it was, but he’d never done it before, and he was sure if he was on stable ground, he’d feel the butterflies he knew were having a field day in his stomach. On instinct, his hands slid around Stiles’ waist.

The nice thing about kissing underwater? It was hard to take it further. No one wanted to inhale a mouthful of water, and then of course there was the air thing. Just like that, the kiss was over, and they surfaced, both giggling like a couple of teenagers.

Before he could say anything, Derek checked the shallow waters and found Stephen splashing with other kids. Then, he turned to his boyfriend. “Not that it wasn’t one of the best kisses of my life, but that was irresponsible. I have to keep an eye on Stephen.”

Stiles wrapped his arms around Derek’s neck. “Relax. We were only underwater for fifteen seconds. I counted. There are three lifeguards on duty.”

“But it only takes a second.”

He raked his nails against Derek’s scalp. “And could you swim over there in fifteen seconds?”

“No.”

"Well, if something had happened, the lifeguards would get there first." Stiles kissed his forehead. “But, I'm sorry I made you worry.”

“I wasn’t worried, it’s just…”

“You’re a parent; you worry, part of the job description?”

“Yeah.” Derek chuckled, running his fingers over Stiles’ bare shoulders. “You’re getting pink.”

Stiles looked down at his skin. “No! I tried so hard not to get sunburned this year. I’m going to look like a lobster.” He groaned. “That’s why I wore the darker sh...oh right.”

Derek pulled him towards the ladder, kissing his cheek before climbing. “It was a nice thing you did. As a repayment, I volunteer to slather you with aloe, and daub your fragile lobster skin with tea bags later.” He extended a hand and helped Stiles onto the deck.

Stiles tossed an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders. “Sounds great. I will be taking complete advantage of that later.”

Derek sat down on a recently vacated lounge chair, patting the space between his legs for Stiles to sit. When he obliged, Derek pulled him back against his chest, letting both arms drape over slightly sunburned shoulders.

Stiles dropped his head back onto Derek’s shoulder. “This is nice.”

“Mmm.”

They watched Stephen play for about half an hour more until he came over to them. “Daddy, I am all wrinkly. I’m done swimming.”

 

*   *   *   *   *

 

Back at the blanket, the other four sat playing cards. Melissa seemed to be winning what appeared to be Rummy. She smiled. “Have fun boys?”

“The best.” Stephen said and handed the two towels to Derek. “So I can change back, please.”

In a few moments, his wet suit and Stiles’ T-shirt were draped over the cooler to dry. “You want to be on my team, Stephen?” John asked.

“No, thank you.” He carefully laid out his Hello Kitty beach towel and sat down. “I can watch.”

“We can deal you both in if you want.” He said pointing to his son and Derek.

Derek grabbed two bottles of water from the cooler. “I’ll play. Do you want some juice, Stevie?”

“Just water is fine.” He took a few big gulps from Derek’s bottle.

“If you want more, just tell me. Stiles, did you want to play?”

“Nope.” He lay down on his towel, making sure his torso was completely underneath the umbrella. "Taking a nap. Carry on without me.”

Derek shook his head and joined in once the game they’d interrupted finished. After another hand, he noticed his son had been quiet for quite some time. He turned around to see Stephen curled up in the crook of Stiles’ arm out cold, just like Stiles.

He couldn’t help the quiet ‘aww’ that escaped his lips, and he quickly covered his mouth. The scene was adorable. Before he could say anything, he heard the click of a shutter next to him.

“Sorry. I couldn’t resist. It’s a sweet picture.” Kira said, stowing her digital SLR back in her bag. “I’ll make sure to send a copy to you.”

Derek nodded, accepting that it would probably become one of his favorite pictures.

“Well, now that you are all back, I could use a walk.” Melissa said and the other three scampered off, leaving John with Derek.

“Not going with them?”

“Nope. I manned that grill, and now I get to relax. Though, I will admit it would be better with a beer, but with Stiles sleeping, he can’t see me enjoy this terrible for me ice cream bar.”

“No he can’t.”

John pointed a finger at him. “And _you_ aren’t going to rat me out.”

Derek held up his hands. “No, Sir. Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Okay now,” he threw an arm around Derek’s shoulders, “I think we’re past calling me, Sir. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Suppose we are.” Derek looked back at the napping pair.

John followed his gaze. “Penny for your thoughts?”

“What?”

“You have the...what does Stiles call them… heart eyes thing going on.”

Derek’s shoulders shook a little as he laughed. “Oh. Well yeah, I kind of do. It’s just, well you probably understand quite well. Stiles is the first person I’ve dated since Stephen was six months old. That was a spectacular failure. You know? Because you have to make sure your kid likes who you date, and also that your date likes your child, and well…” He gestured to Stiles, “he just looks like he belongs there, and it’s kinda terrifying actually. Like, everything I’ve ever heard says it shouldn’t be this easy this quickly.”

John nodded. “Sometimes it is.” He patted Derek on the back. “Just don’t screw it up.”

“Thanks.”

“That’s me, expert advice columnist.”

Derek and John were still talking, laughing when everyone else returned. When Stiles and Stephen woke up, he earned a suspicious glance from Stiles, the kind of look that asked, ‘Were you two talking about my awkward teenage years?’

 

*   *   *   *   *

“Mr. Slinski, when do the fireworks start?”

“They should be starting soon.” He showed Stephen his watch. “Do you know how to tell time yet?”

“A little, but your watch has no numbers.”

He looked at the watch face. “So it doesn’t. Well the show starts at ten, and it’s now 09:45. So how many minutes does that mean we have to wait?”

Stephen looked up while he thought, counting on his fingers. “Fifteen.”

“Very good, Buddy.” Derek tousled his son’s hair.

“And...can I sit with you when the fireworks start?”

John still looked surprised whenever Stephen wanted to spend time with him on these little family outings. “Sure.”

“Great.” The boy crawled back to his father. “Hey Daddy, guess what. Mr. Slinski said I can sit with him.”

“That’s nice of him.”

Stephen sat with eager anticipation as the minutes ticked down. As soon as the first shell went up into the air, he scrambled into John’s lap. With each successive boom, Stephen let out ‘ooh’s’ and ‘ah’s’, even the occasional, ‘Wow, Daddy. That one looked like a star.’ From the back of the blanket, Derek watched with a smile, his arm around Stiles’ waist. The scene filled his heart with warmth, especially given the shaky introduction between his son and Stiles' father.

A particularly large shell startled Stiles, sending his body into Derek’s side. The man looked over at Derek and laughed. “Forgot how loud they can get.” He turned his gaze back skyward.

Rather than look up at the sky like everyone else, Derek simply watched the way the bright colors reflected in Stiles’ eyes. Damn, those were beautiful eyes. He loved them, the bourbon color of them, their size, the way his eyelashes were so long they almost looked fake as they brushed his cheeks when he closed his eyes, even the fact that their wide eyed innocence concealed the elfin gleam Derek knew they had. Then there was that pink pout, which now hung open a little, every so often twisting into a tiny grin. His nose was sunburned, flush in a red tinge which spread across his cheeks like a mask. He hadn’t brushed his hair after swimming; not even a hand had been dragged through those brown locks, and they lie limp instead of sticking up in every direction possible the way the man normally liked them. Rarely had Derek seen the natural texture of Stiles hair, slightly wavy with the bangs curling carefree across his forehead. Derek wished he had talent like the old Masters, because the scene next to him would be the most beautiful painting if he could muster anything greater than stick figures.

The best part about the way Stiles looked at that moment was the fact the man sat oblivious to the way Derek was staring at him with such adoration. All around him, he could hear people admiring the fireworks; the shutter click of a few cameras added to the atmosphere. He couldn’t let the opportunity pass him up, and he pulled his phone from his pocket to snap a picture of Stiles on the sly. He was so beautiful; it sucked the air from his lungs every now and then

It didn’t do him justice- Derek thought, but a gorgeous picture nonetheless.

Overcome with emotion, he couldn’t help himself and leaned over to kiss that spot just beneath Stiles’ ear, the one that turned his boyfriend into a boneless mess when kissed. Derek slipped the arm currently around his shoulders down to his waist, and the other wrapped around him from the front, pulling him into Derek’s lap. Stiles’ legs draped across Derek’s as he sat sideways on him.

“Hey,” Stiles hissed in protest, “I was watching those.”

“I’m not sorry.” Derek said against Stiles’ mouth, his tongue tracing the outline of the man’s lower lip.

“Me...me neither.” He was near breathless, and the kiss so far had been fairly innocent. Maybe it was the sudden outburst of PDA from Derek. So far in their relationship, he’d been quite private. It wasn’t a bad thing; Stiles didn’t mind, but sometimes he just wanted the man to kiss him senseless in public okay? His lips parted as Derek’s hands ran down his back. He knew he made an audible gasp. Those strong hands on his skin just did things to him. “What’s come over you?”

Derek didn’t respond, only kissed along Stiles’ jaw and down to the crook of his neck.. Damn, how he wished they were at home now all alone in their bed. Keeping things from becoming indecent was becoming hard and...hold the phone.  When had he started thinking of his place, his bed as theirs?

It should have scared him; it didn’t. It felt right. Butterflies didn't flutter in his stomach. No, instead the idea felt warm and perfect, white hot even, kind of like the fireworks exploding overhead. Still, it wasn’t the type of idea to be decided upon on a whim, and in his case it required a discussion with Stephen, but he wanted it, and badly. His brain had already decided Stiles needed to be a fixture in his home all the time, and he hadn’t even managed to articulate his feelings yet, a tragedy which needed to be rectified immediately.

“What?” Stiles asked, noticing Derek had stilled.

Why did this have to be so hard? Okay, so Derek knew the answer to that already. Two words: Kate and Jennifer. That was why. _Grow a set, Derek._

“Let the moment get away from you, did you?” Stiles joked. “That’s okay.”

Derek nipped at Stiles’ earlobe. “I love you.” His breath ghosted over Stiles’ skin, eliciting a shiver from him.

“I know.” Stiles said, his voice breathy and shaky.

“Don’t Han Solo me.” Derek pressed another kiss to the skin below Stiles’ ear. “I know you know. I just…”

“What took you so long?” Stiles joked, which he regretted almost instantly when he felt Derek’s jaw tense against his neck. “I’m sorry. That was rude.” He said, pulling back to look into Derek’s eyes only to find them closed. “Hey. Look at me.”

Derek’s eyelids fluttered open. “The only two people I was with, that I said that to--it didn’t end well. Okay? My first love cheated on me. Then, after I broke up with her, she burned my family’s house down with most of them inside. I was sixteen, and it destroyed me for years. The other...abandoned both of us less than a week after Stephen was born. Why do you think it took me a while?” He pressed his forehead against Stiles. “I just didn’t want my heart trampled on again.”

Stiles moved his hands to Derek’s hair, raking his nails lightly against his scalp. “I’m not gonna do that. I won’t hurt you, not on purpose.” He kissed the tip of Derek’s nose. “You don’t do that to those you love. What did I do to finally win that trust?” He licked his lips.

Derek held him tighter. “By being you. Simple as that. By being the beautiful and wonderful person you are.”

“I _knew_ you were a closet softie.” Stiles planted a soft kiss on his lips. He shifted until he sat between Derek’s legs, his back against the man’s chest, and intertwined their fingers, crossing both sets of arms across his stomach. He tipped his head back and looked up at Derek. “I love you too, you know.”

Derek rested his chin on Stiles’ shoulder. “You’ve mentioned that once or twice.”

“Don’t sass me.” He poked Derek in the forehead and sighed. “I love you both.” Shit. Stiles felt panic building in his stomach. Did he overstep a boundary with that confession? Hell if he knew. “I mean...crap… can I say something like that? Is that okay?”

Derek kissed the back of Stiles’ neck. “Yeah, you can say that.” He said against his boyfriend’s neck. “You should tell him that. He’d probably like to hear it.” He felt Stiles’ body relax in his arms. Oh yeah, the man definitely belonged at their house.

He’d need to have that conversation with Stephen as soon as possible.

  
  
  
  
  



End file.
